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with a huge Canadian flag sticker plastered to his suitcase followed, rubbing his eyes and looking anxiously at the sea of faces. Mak probably wouldn’t be too much longer.
    She hadn’t returned his last few calls, and he hadn’t told her he would be at the airport to greet her. They’d left off their long-distance relationshipon a kind of odd note, that much was true. There had been a lot of phone calls since he’d returned to Sydney from his extended work trip to Canada six months earlier. At first everything seemed fine. Then about two months ago she’d said that she thought they should see other people. She’d said that long-distance relationships never really worked and they shouldn’t put too much pressure on themselves. Of course he’d agreed. What else was he supposed to say? But then he’d gone ahead and followed through. It had only been a weekend fling, really. A nurse. Carol was her name. A nice girl, but not really his type. Or rather, she wasn’t Makedde.
    It hadn’t taken long for him to realise he had done the wrong thing. And now there was this stand-off. What was he supposed to do? It had been her idea after all. Why would she say something like that if she didn’t really mean it?
    Women. Were they even the same species? Andy thought it ironic that he could map the psychological processes of the worst kinds of serial killers and rapists, but he still couldn’t figure out what made the opposite sex tick. They truly were a mystery to him.
    A tall, attractive blonde appeared through the arrivals gate in jeans and a zip-up top, her suitcase bearing another of those ubiquitous red and white Canadian flags. Andy stood up straight and looked at her, his heart beating a little faster. But it was not Makedde. He noticed the film crews and photographers edging forward excitedly. And then,without a single flash bulb going off, they shuffled back into place, clearly disappointed.
    And that’s when it dawned on him.
    Oh shit. They know she’s coming back this morning. How the fuck did they find out?
    He panicked.
    Andy didn’t want Mak to be met with a flurry of invasive questions about the murder trial straight after a twenty-hour trip from Canada. Some welcome that would be. There seemed to be someone tipping off the media lately. Perhaps it was one of the new constables? Never trust an underpaid cop. Andy ran through scenarios in his head, ways he could help her avoid the throng. It would be tough enough for her to face it outside the Supreme Court in a few days, but she didn’t need to deal with this now.
    He approached airport security.
    ‘Good morning,’ Andy said to a sleepy young uniformed guard. He flashed his badge discreetly and asked to be taken into the customs area.
    ‘No problem, detective,’ the young man replied, looking somewhat more awake. ‘Come with me.’
    He hoped he wasn’t too late.
    Minutes later, when Andy was told that the witness he sought was already being escorted to her hotel, he felt he masked his disappointment fairly well. He didn’t punch a wall, or even let out a string of expletives, although those responses crossed his mind. He simply said, ‘Good work. Carry on,’ and quietly exited the airport where he’d just wasted ninety minutes. He couldn’t have been farther out of the loop if he tried.
    Fucking fool.
    By the time he got back to his apartment it was past eight, leaving just enough time for a couple of fried eggs and another wrestle with his desire for a shot of Jack Daniels before he headed to work and forced Makedde Vanderwall safely out of his mind…for a few hours at least. Then there would be the unavoidable briefing over dinner with Hartwell and the gang.
    Andy would have to get his act together and keep it professional in front of his colleagues. They all had a trial to prepare for and it was of great importance that everything ran as smoothly as possible. There was no room for emotional baggage. This was a big one, and the nation was